January 2021
RHTH News & Updates
Restoring Hope Transplant House is the first and only non-profit home in the state of Wisconsin specifically devoted to the care of transplant families. Since opening to guests in 2013, RHTH has welcomed transplant families from all parts of Wisconsin, 44 different states and 8 other countries while in search of life-changing care at nearby UW Hospital and the adjacent VA Hospital in Madison.
We are very excited about the upcoming Restoring Hope Transplant House video that is in production currently by Big Dreamers United that features the magic of RHTH and our dining room table which has connected so many families over the years prior to Covid. The video features 3 RHTH families and their touching words about staying here throughout their transplant journeys. Here are a few quotes as a sneak preview.

Shortly after filming this piece, our friend John of Big Dreamers United lost his father. Our thoughts and love go out to John's family on their loss this winter!
LASTING MEMORIES: Life is obviously very different during Covid, but filming this video was a tremendous spirit boosting reminder of just how special and magical our gatherings around this great table have been over the years. We have shared life-changing moments and made friends for life at this table! We look forward to sharing this new video with you all very soon!
WE ARE STILL OPEN: Restoring Hope Transplant House remains open throughout Covid under the careful guidance of our state, local and medical experts to a very limited number of well screened and responsible families in need of essential care. As always, we want to be part of the solution. If any of our former guests or new friends have essential appointments, please contact us to see if we can help during these challenging times!
RHTH GUESTS FEATURED WITH DOTTIE DONOR DOT
We have had some severe winter weather at times over the past couple months. During one particularly windy storm, we sustained some fairly significant wind damage to both our front and back sun porch.

What an incredible blessing to have some of our local Lions Club friends stop over to donate their time and talents to fix all of those issues for us. Thanks so much guys!

We cannot thank our statewide Lions and Lion Clubs worldwide enough for all they have done to serve their communities and support great causes like RHTH during the very worst of this pandemic. Your efforts are so appreciated by us and all who have called RHTH home over the years!
Upcoming Events - 7th Annual Steve Muenchow Golf Outing
It fills us with so much hope for the future to see our friends at Live Love Donate making plans for their annual golf fundraiser which has raised funds to benefit great transplant causes over the years including RHTH. Hopefully a sign of great things ahead as we progress through 2021 and more towards a sense of normalcy. Thanks so much ladies. We appreciate all you do to support the transplant community!
So wonderful to have our kidney recipient friend Sally and her husband Tom in from Green Bay for an appointment recently. They have stayed here at RHTH throughout Sally's transplant journey that included receiving a kidney from her adopted daughter.

We loved hearing the story of how in the 1944 NFL Championship game, Sally’s dad Joe Laws led the Green Bay Packers in rushing on offense and had 3 interceptions and a fumble recovery on defense to help the Packers win the championship over the New York Giants 14-7.

All told, Sally's dad won 3 championships with the Packers and is a member of their Hall of Fame. We could listen to those old glory days stories all day long and hang on her every word.

We cherish the moments we have together with our guests. Our favorite part of what we do!
ANOTHER TRANSPLANT STORY WE REALLY LOVED:

The mother of the young lady on the right had a kidney transplant at UW Hospital in 1972. 49 years later her good friend is hoping for a kidney transplant of her own at the very same UW Hospital!

It was fun to spend some time hearing them chat about their friendship, memories, experiences and looking forward to what they both hope is another successful transplant journey here in Madison in the very near future!
We have lost some very dear friends this winter. Friends who quite honestly have become more like our own family over the years. We have gotten to know many of them so well that we were honored to share in the grieving process from a distance in several cases just as we did during the endless great times we once shared together.

This has been an incredibly difficult stretch for everyone, but I will always be proud of how the community spirit of this house and our families have always rallied around those who are struggling or experiencing loss. During the darkest days, this house and our families were often at their very best and I thank you all for that. Our collective love to you all as we get through this together!
With love to Jim, Cheryl, Gerald and Danny and all who have lost loved ones this challenging winter. You and your families are so loved!
BEATING COVID: We have lost friends and former guests to Covid this past year and have even said our final goodbyes on heartbreaking iPad video chats that we hope we never have to go through again. On the other hand, we are also incredibly thankful for those who have made it through their own personal battles with Covid and to the medical professionals who have guided them through it. In this wonderful case, it's one of our transplant recipients who is also a transplant nurse at her local major hospital! Stay healthy friends!
CONTACT RHTH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
CINDY HERBST
Thank you for your interest in Restoring Hope Transplant House and our transplant family friends who call it home. We appreciate you taking the time to read through our e-newsletter updates and following our progress.

If you would like to learn more about RHTH, please call me at 608-831-1726 or email me at the link below.
Thanks For Reading Our Updates!